Divide up to 4 digits by 1 digit - Maths - Learning with BBC Bitesize

How do you divide 4 digit numbers?

Learn how to break down a calculation when dividing a 4-digit number by a 1-digit number.

Example 1

What is 6396 divided by 3?

In this example we will break down the calculation using place value counters.

The place value chart shows the number 6396. There are 6 thousands, 3 hundreds, 9 tens and 6 ones. To divide this by 3, look at the values in the individual columns.

6 thousands divided by 3 is 2 thousands, 3 hundreds divided by 3 is 1 hundred, 9 tens divided by 3 is 3 tens and 6 divided by 3 is 2 ones.

So 6396 ÷ 3 = 2132.

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Here is 6396 represented in a place value chart. There are 6 thousands, 3 hundreds, 9 tens and 6 ones. To divide the number, you separate the counters into 3 groups.
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If you divide the counters into 3 groups, 6 thousands divided by 3 is 2 thousands, 3 hundreds divided by 3 is 1 hundred, 9 tens divided by 3 is 3 tens and 6 divided by 3 is 2 ones. So 6396 ÷ 3 = 2132

Example 2

What is 1248 divided by 4?

This is dividing a 4 digit number by a 1 digit number, but without the place value counters.

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12 hundreds divided by 4 is 300, four tens divided by 4 is 10, 8 divided by 4 is 2. 300 add 10 add 12 is 312.
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Another way of representing this is with a bracket or bus stop. In division, we talk about the dividend (the number being divided) the divisor (the number we divide by) and the quotient (the result of the division.) Notice how the digits of the dividend and quotient are ‘lined-up’ with this working out, just as we would always do with column addition and subtraction!
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To begin the division, we divide the first number of the dividend by the divisor. 1 cannot be divided so you divide 12 by 4, which equals 3.
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We repeat this for each dividend.

Example 3

What is 7580 divided by 5?

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5 divided into 7 (thousands) goes once.
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5 divided into 7 (thousands) goes once (one thousand) and 2 (thousands) left over.
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5 divided into 25 (hundreds) goes exactly 5 (hundreds) – no remainder.
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5 divided into 8 (tenths) goes once with 3 left over and 30 (ones) goes exactly 6 (ones) – no remainder.
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Here is the calculation in full.

Example 4

What is 6324 divided by 6?

6 divided into 6 (thousands) goes exactly once – no remainder.

6 cannot be divided into 3 – there is not even one six in three! So just move the 3 (hundreds) to make 32 (tens).

6 divided into 32 (tens) goes 5 (tens) and 2 (tens) left over.

6 divided into 24 (ones) goes exactly 4 (ones) – no remainder.

Activities

Activity 1

The Greatest Remainder

The aim of this game is to be the player with the greatest remainder at the end! Take it in turn to roll a dice. Write down your number each time. Roll the dice four times each so that you each have a 4-digit number, such as 2396.
Now that each of you has a 4-digit number, each player chooses a number between 3 and 9. Divide your 4-digit number by this number.
The player with the greatest remainder wins, as long as their calculation is correct!
Extension: Play the game again. This time, the aim is to be the player with the smallest remainder. How will this affect how you play?

Quiz 1

Quiz 2

Now test your knowledge with this quiz.

How do you divide 4 digit numbers?

Example 1

Example 2

Example 3

Example 4

Activities

Activity 1

Quiz 1

Quiz 2

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